Somerset man charged following death of homeless Fall River man

Wednesday

May 17, 2017 at 1:26 PMMay 17, 2017 at 4:51 PM

The victim, a 61-year homeless man, and another homeless individual were walking in the breakdown lane of Brayton Avenue around 10:20 p.m. Sunday when Hopkins' 2006 Jeep Liberty swerved into the lane and struck the pedestrian.

Brian Fraga Herald News Staff Reporter @BfragaHN

FALL RIVER — A Somerset man is accused of leaving the scene of a fatal motor vehicle accident where a pedestrian died Sunday night while walking on Brayton Avenue in Fall River.

Two people driving in that area at the time told police that they saw the gray 2006 Jeep Liberty strike the pedestrian, and followed the vehicle to the Target parking lot in Swansea, where they confronted the driver and told him that he had struck somebody in Fall River.

According to the witnesses’ statements, the driver — identified by police as Victor M. Hopkins, 36, of 343 Mohawk Road in Somerset — told them, “I hit a deer! I gotta go,” and left the area. The witnesses gave police the driver’s license plate registration, which led to Somerset police officers arresting Hopkins a short time later as he was pulling into his driveway, according to court documents.

Arraigned Monday in Fall River District Court, Hopkins was originally held on $25,000 cash bail, but a judge on Wednesday lowered that bail to $10,000 cash, which Hopkins posted, according to court records.

Hopkins is charged with leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident death resulting, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and marked lanes violation.

The victim, a 61-year homeless man, and another homeless individual were walking in the breakdown lane of Brayton Avenue around 10:20 p.m. Sunday when Hopkins’ sport utility vehicle swerved into the lane and struck the pedestrian, according to police reports. Witnesses said the Jeep’s driver made no attempt to stop or check what he collided with after the crash, and continued to travel west on Brayton Avenue toward the Route 24 on-ramp.

Police said Hopkins had a cell phone at the time and called his mother to tell her that he struck a deer. However, authorities said Hopkins made no attempt to call police or confirm that he struck a deer, even after being told by the witnesses who confronted him in the Swansea Target parking lot.

“It is clear by his actions that Mr. Hopkins attempted to leave the scene, not call the police, and elude the witness that he was aware he collided with a pedestrian,” Fall River police Officer Nicholas Custadio wrote in his official incident report.

The victim died shortly after being transported to St. Anne’s Hospital. The person he was walking with at the time only knew the victim as “Robert,” who lived in a homeless camp in the wooded area south of where the collision happened. Fall River police officers researched past calls in which several people who stayed at the camp were identified, and were able to identify the victim as Robert Colby, according to court documents.

The Fall River Police Department’s Accident Reconstruction Team responded to the crash site and gathered evidence. Police officers at the scene documented finding pieces of plastic that appeared from a motor vehicle on the roadway. Where the collision occurred, police also found one open beer can, a baseball hat and the victim’s green jacket about 60 feet away from the point of impact, according to court documents.

Hopkins is scheduled to return to court for a pretrial hearing on June 12. While his case is pending, Hopkins will be placed on GPS monitoring and must abide by a curfew of 6 p.m. to 8 a.m.

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